Lucky to Be Alive?

The hope of Heaven and seeing Jesus face-to-face

After surviving a serious car accident, Doyle Roth reflects on whether Christians truly anticipate Heaven or remain more attached to the plans and pleasures of this life. Drawing from Jesus’ promise in John 14 and Paul’s words in Philippians, he encourages believers to live fully for Christ while longing for the day they will see him face-to-face.

• Earthly plans and experiences should not overshadow the Christian hope of Heaven.
• Suffering caused Roth to reconsider what it means to say someone is “lucky to be alive.”
• Christians are called to serve faithfully in this life while anticipating being with Christ.

By Doyle Roth

Remember as a child how we looked forward to the summer break from school? Then there was the anticipation of waiting for the family vacation. Whether it was a trip to the beach, the mountains, or Disneyland, the excitement would build as the date approached.

As adults we still mesmerize ourselves with expectations of grand and glorious places and events. Dreams and hope for the future are a part of many facets of our lives. There is anticipation when we leave home to go to college. There is excitement as the graduation date finally approaches. We can’t wait to buy our first house. When we think of a big trip across the country, or to Europe or Hawaii, we call it “the trip of a lifetime.” Perhaps it is the growing anticipation of a family holiday or a wedding. We can’t wait for it to arrive with all its grandeur and promises for smiles and fulfillment. As the date approaches, we can’t stop thinking about it and talking about it.

Better than any trip or holiday on earth will be the day we arrive in Heaven and see the face of Jesus. It seems like we spend more time and energy in planning special days and material investments than in preparing for and anticipating our time in eternity.

Through some difficult circumstances, I was challenged to evaluate my hopes and dreams. Are my goals and plans in life all centered around this world, or do I long to join Jesus in Heaven?

Lucky?

A few years ago, my wife, Jean, and I were involved in a serious car accident. We were both left with several fractures and a long road to recovery. Jean fractured her sternum and ribs, and had serious bruising. I suffered fractures in both legs and an arm. It left me bedridden for some time and then confined to a wheelchair for months. Following the accident, I began to hear a phrase that confused and sometimes angered me. The phrase? “Doyle, you are so lucky to be alive.”

Now, I know what was intended by that phrase. Anyone looking at our smashed car was amazed we were alive. Anyone who knew the seriousness of the accident and how long it took the medical team to extricate me from the car, would have doubted I could survive it.

However, for Christians to use the phrase “you are so lucky to be alive” left me bewildered. I was in miserable pain for weeks. What would have been so bad about death? I would be in Heaven.

After surgery and a hospital stay, I came home to lie in a hospital bed in our dining room. During the days and weeks of extreme pain that followed, I began to think a lot about life—and I did not feel so “lucky.” I could be here in miserable pain—or enjoying the peace of Heaven.

I longed for the pain to end. I began to think a lot about Heaven and how close Jean and I came to being there that Thursday afternoon in June. We could be there together enjoying all the beauty and wonderment God has prepared for us. And yet—we were being told—”you are so lucky to be alive.”

Now I should state I am not a fatalist and I certainly do enjoy life. Jean and I are blessed with a wonderful church, a good family, children who love the Lord, and many friends. Life is good for us. I have reflected and prayed many times about how we understand our life of serving God on earth and our hope of Heaven. I have had to ask the question many times, “Do we as Christians really have a hope for Heaven?”

As recorded in John 14:2, 3, Jesus said,

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Bored?

Of all the plans we could ever make for a new house, none could compare to what Jesus is preparing for us. Why aren’t we excited about being with Jesus face-to-face and seeing what he has designed for us?

Have we become bored with the topic of Heaven, or do we love this world and all the things of it so much that we have become nearsighted and can’t see beyond it? We sing words like these:

Onward to the prize before us

Author: Doyle Roth